Toy parachute device



May 26, 1936- F. v. MOORE ET A1. 2,042,270

TOY PARACHUTE DEVICE Filed June 23, 1953 Patented May 26, 1936 UNITED STATES Tor PARACHUTE DEVICE Fred V. Moore and Albin B. Johnson, Harvey, lll., assignors of one-half to Neil A. Kingston Application June 23, 1933, Serial No. 677,211

o1aims.` (ol. 462-86) This invention relates to al toy parachute device and more particularly to a toy miniature person or doll equipped with a to-y parachute dev ice -in order to enable the said deviceto be 1 1 thrown up in the air, and means for bringing the parachute into effective .operation at or near the maximum ascending height of the device, and its consequent functioning as hereinafter described.

,lo A further important object of our invention is to produce a toy equipped with a parachute that is a practical device rather than Yone which on paper looks like it should work or be operative, but which in practice and actual'tests is vabsolutelyaworthless. To this end we have made dozens of samples and hundreds of tests or trial flights, until we conceived and perfected the ininvention herein disclosed, described and claimed, and which tests were thoroughly practical and d0. highly successful. On the other hand. we have tested out .other devices which theoretically function in a substantially different manner, by substantially diierent means, and which have been presented to the public Hheretofore, but have 7 been found entirely inoperative and impractical. One other important object ofour invention is to provide a practical device that is `very ineX-. pensiveas to the cost of. manufacturing the same. Since lthese devices will appeal mostly to children 3u; the costmust be kept down in order not to restrain the sales demand. Similarly a Afurther'object. is to have the deviceso mechanically simple and free from intricacies so as to eliminate, or at least obviate, the undesirability of Afrustrating the 35: mechanism by jarring, breaking or otherwise destroying the operability .of the said device. 'Ihis latter is the actual situation with some of the devices of this character which have been called to our attention. A

This and other objects will appear by an inspection of .the drawing, to which like reference characters areapplied to like parts .in the several views shown, and in which Fig. 1 is an elevational perspective view show- 45l ing the device atian angle so as to present the rear and-the left front lside of the device, with the parachute inserted within the hollow portion of the doll or body;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the device 50 as it appears descending with the parachute in operative position;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the lines 3-3 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

55 Fig. 4 is a side elevational View showing a modified form of holding the casing in closed position:

and Fig. 5 is similarly an elevational view showingl a further modied form of 'holding the casing in operative position. l 5 In the iigures I represents the doll o-r man as a whole, 2 the head thereof, 3 the casing attached to the doll by means of the hinge Il, which hinge is secured to the doll by means of the plate 5 held in place by the screws 6; 'I represents the mi openings in the sides o the casing and 8 represents flanges or protruding portions of the casing against which the cords 9 press when the casing is in closed position, and IIJ represents the eyelet or opening in the bottom part of the doll through which the cords 9 pass. II represents the hole or opening in the back of the casing through which the strings I2 of the parachute` extend. I3 is the top of theparachute, I4 represents a metal plate attached to the casing 3 by means of the screw I5, said plate having a flange IB at the bottom thereof. I'I represents an L shaped hook adapted to contact with the member I6, said hook having an eyelet I8, to which eyelet is attached an elastic band I9, said elastic band attached at to a cord 2I, said cord having a knot 22 therein suiciently large so Ias not to permit it to passthrough the eyelet I0. 23 represents a bracket protruding from the thigh portion of the doll, a lever 25 is pivoted at 24 on said bracket and having a right-angled section protruding upward at 26, andthe other end of said lever being attached at 21 to a cord y28. The operation of our` device is quite simple, and in its simplicity and inexpensiveness resides its great commercial appeal.`

Referring for the present to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the parachute is rolled and inserted within the casing and the casing is in closed position, as shown at Fig. 1. Theperson wishing to manipulate the toy grabs the cords 9 at a convenient extremity exterior of the eyelet I0, and whirls theV same around several times, thus causing the cords 9 to become tense, which tends to hold the casing inclosed position, partly because of the location of the holes'. l, partly because of the protruding portions 8 and partly because the cords 9 are brought towards the front of the doll, thereby causing the relative position of the cords to hold the casing in closed position.

We have found in actual test that it is preferable, but not indispensable, to weight the head 2 of the doll, so that when the device is hurled upwardly, after swinging the same around a time or two, the device will proceed upwardly in the velastic I9 is under tension.

- releasing of the tension of the cords 9, plus the resistance of the air, will cause the casing to open Vas shown in Fig. 2 and permit the parachute to be released, whereupon the device iloats gracefully and safely to the earth.`

Fig. 4 showsv a modified form of our device in that the knot 22 is placed at such a point that when the casing 3 is held in closed position by means of the hook l1 and the flange I6 the As the device is hurled upwardly theY casing is held in place by reason of the pressure of gravity, but the hook l1 is released from the L I6 by reason of the contraction of the elastic I9.

In Fig. 'V5 the pressure of the cord 9, which is in that gure an extension of the cord 28, holds the casing in place while the device is being whirled. The lever 25 in the position shown in Fig. 5 is fulcrumed at 24; when pressure cords 28 .and 9 are released gravity forces the lever down and thus permits the casing to open.

Having thus described our invention, what we claimv and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the character described comprising a hollow body portion, a casing hingedly connected with s aid body portion, said casing having extending therefrom a plurality of cords extending downwardly of said body portion and passing through an eye or opening in the lower extremity of said body portion, said cords serv- .ing as means for .hurling the device upwardly and holding the casing closed, `a parachute secured to the` device and held within the body portion and the casing and adapted to unfold to support the body portion when the latter opens.

2. In a device of the character described comprising a hollow body portion, a casing hingedly connected with said body portion, said casing having extending therefrom a plurality of cords extending downwardly of said body portion and passing through an eye or opening in the lower extremity of said body portion, said .cords serv.- ing as means for hurling the device upwardly and holding the casing closed, said casing having flanges or raised portions against which said plu rality of cords under tension tend to exert pressure, a parachute secured to. the device and held within the body` portion and the casing,V and adapted to unfold to support the body portion when the latter opens.

3. In a device of the character described comprising a hollow body portion, a parachute held within the b ody portion and adapted to unfold to support the body portion when the body por'.- tion opens, said parachute being held in its place within the hollow body by means of cords as the device is hurled upwardly and thereafter being held in place in its upward flight by means of gravity exerting itself against the hollow? body portion, said cords also serving as means for hurling Vthe device upwardly.

4. In a device of the character described comprising a hollow body portion, a parachute held within the body portion and adapted to be released at or near the maximum heighth of the device on being thrown upwardly, a single means for the dual purpose of hurling said device upwardly and securing the parachute in a collapsed condition prior to its release.

5. In combination with a toy projectile, a parachute adapted to be released and opened up at or near the maximum height to which said projectile is hurled, means by which flight of the projectile is effected, and said means preventing the said parachute from prematurely escaping from said projectile.

6 In a device of the character described comprising a hollow body portion, a cover for closing said hollow body portion, a parachute held within the body portion and adapted to unfold to support the device when the cover opens and the device iloats to the earth, said parachute being held in its place within the hollow body portion while the device is being hurled by the tension of a cord which is employed for hurling the device upwardly.

' '7. In a device of the character described comprising a hollow body portion, a casing hingedly connected with said body portion, said casing having extending therefrom a cord downwardly of said body portion and passing through an eye orropening in the lower extremity of said body portion, said cord serving as a means for hurling the device upwardly and holding the casing closed, a parachute secured to the device and held within the body portion and the casing and adapted to unfold to support the body portion when the latter opens.

8. In a device of the character described, comprising a hollow body portion, a casing hingedly connected with said body portion, said casing having a cord extending downwardly of said body portion and passing through an eye or opening in the lower extremity of said body portion, said cord serving as a. means for hurling the device upwardly and holding the casing closed, said casing having anges or raised-portions against which said cord underY tension tends to exert pressure, .a parachute secured tov the device and held within the body'portion andA the casing and adapted r,to unfold to support the body portion ywhen the latter opens.

Q In a parachute toy a bodyY por-tion, a parachute associated `with said body portion vin a collapsed condition, and means for hurling the toy in the air, said means also functioning to retain the parachute collapsed only while .the toyis being hurled by the operator'.

10. In a parachute toy a body portion, a para chute associated with said body portion'in ya col. lapsed condition and a corelv attached to. the body for hurling the toy in the air, said cord Aalso functioning to retain the parachutepollapsed while being hurled by the. Voperator and there. after releasing its, y.retentio-n `of the parachute.'

V. B- JOHNSON- 

